At present, interconnection between optical components and standard electronic components is a difficult task which is expensive. Generally, the interconnection or integration of optical components and standard electrical components is achieved manually or semiautomatically, thereby making the integration complex, inefficient, and not suitable for high volume manufacturing. Since the integration of optical components and electrical components is not suitable for high volume manufacturing, manufacture of systems and products that would utilize advantages of both optics and electronics synergistically are generally not manufactured.
Conventionally, interconnection between optical components and standard electronics is achieved by carefully aligning a working portion of a photonic device to an optically conductive means and subsequently affixing the working portion of the photonic device to the conductive means, thereby optically coupling the conductive means to the photonic device. The photonic device is then electrically coupled to standard electrical components; however, as with the coupling of the working portion of the photonic device to the conducting means, the electrical coupling is achieved manually, thereby providing several problems, such as being extremely labor intensive, costly, inaccuracy of alignment. Thus, conventional interconnection methods and structures for optical and standard electronic components are not suitable for high volume manufacturing. Further, since conventional methods and structures are not suitable for high volume manufacturing, products capable of using the advantages of both optical components and electrical components are not manufactured. Thus, products utilizing the synergistic advantages of both optics and electronics are not realized.
At present, with the difficulty of integrating optical and electronic components, integration of optical and electronic components that are at a substrate or board level is also a difficult task.
It can be readily seen that conventional methods and structures for integrating photonic and electrical components have severe limitations which prevents realization of advantages of both photonic and electrical components. Also it is evident that the conventional methods and structures are not only complex and expensive, but also not effective for high volume manufacturing. Therefore, a method and structure for facilitating the integration of photonic devices and standard electrical components, as well as integration at a board or substrate level would be highly desirable.